‘FOOT-STAMPING’ NO WAY FOR IRAN TO SETTLE PROBLEMS WITH AZERBAIJAN
news.az
Sept 16 2011
Azerbaijan
It’s probably no secret that neighbouring Iran has a specific policy
towards Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus and Caspian region as
a whole.
Iran is mostly annoyed about two points: the existence of the
independent Azerbaijan Republic, which strongly influences Iranian
Azerbaijanis, and the fact that, as the strongest state in the region,
Azerbaijan continues to improve its military and political, trade and
economic and energy transit potential, while turning into a serious
player and competitor on world markets.
For this reason, Tehran makes friends with Azerbaijan’s enemies,
following the principle “my enemy~Rs enemy is my friend”. There are
close and coordinated ties between Iran and aggressor Armenia which
occupied nearly 20% of Azerbaijani lands. Meanwhile, the Iranian
side is trying to justify support to aggressor Armenia by saying that
Azerbaijan is allegedly developing ties with Israel. But this argument
does not stand up to criticism since the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
started first, in which Iran took an openly pro-Armenian position, then
came the USSR collapse, after which independent Azerbaijan defined its
foreign policy priorities and chose cooperation with Israel rather
than Iran, which carries out an equivocal and ambiguous policy on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
The current rise of anti-Azerbaijani hysteria by the Iranian side
was marked with the historical “excursion” of the chief of the
general staff of the Iranian armed forces, S.H. Firouzabadi, who made
anti-Azerbaijani statements in an interview with Iranian media. He
made accusations, which were subsequently dismissed by the Iranian
Foreign Ministry, that Azerbaijan is allegedly suppressing Muslims,
and voiced the absurd idea that Azerbaijan is “Aran” and people here
are “Aranian, with Iranian blood in their veins”.
Other Iranian figures took their lead from Firouzabadi, who decided
to go deep into history instead of minding his military business. The
Iranian side has not quietened down for a long time and started the
Azerbaijani topic anew after a small interval.
For example, in his recent interview with the Iranian Seher TV channel,
the deputy general secretary of Hezbollah (actively sponsored by
Iran), Sheikh Taaim Kasem, “condemned the policy of the Azerbaijani
authorities on suppressing people”.
“The ban on the hijab [Islamic headscarf] is a violation of human
rights and it is inadmissible in any part of the world, which is why
Azerbaijani people have the right to declare it and fight for their
rights, while the authorities of this country, being people~Rs
representatives, have to fulfill their demands,~T Kasem said,
while obviously distorting facts and giving way to fancy, since
any religious suppression in Azerbaijan is out of the question. The
country has equally comfortable conditions for not only Muslims, who
constitute the greater part of the population, but also representatives
of other faiths.
Azerbaijan responded to all this with patience and restrained
statements from a number of officials and structures. This is despite
the fact that Iran is continuing comprehensive cooperation with Armenia
and practically sponsoring it, though it is aware of Azerbaijan~Rs
attitude to this assistance to the Armenian aggressor.
Against this background, the recent statements of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that “Nothing can harm our brotherly relations
with Azerbaijan” sound insincere. The Iranian president said that
Iran supports Azerbaijan’s independence, Fars news agency reported.
According to Ahmadinejad, Iran is interested in developing ties with
Azerbaijan in border regions.
It is not surprising that the Iranian president mentioned the Iranian
regions bordering Azerbaijan, where Iranian armed forces are into
the second week of large-scale exercises. The Iranian president is
probably aware that the military exercises would not promote the
“development of relations with Azerbaijan in the border regions”.
In fact, Iranian actions pose a threat not only to Azerbaijan~Rs
security but also to the whole South Caucasus, especially its attempts
to hinder energy transit projects. The Iranian support for radical
groupings in Azerbaijan, provocative statements by Iranian politicians,
the recent statement of Hezbollah which threatened Azerbaijan will
all have a negative effect on Iranian-Azerbaijani relations.
Instead of settling its internal problems, Iran is looking for those
responsible outside. The protests in Iran and even in Turkey and
Azerbaijan over the state of Lake Urmia in South Azerbaijan, which is
drying out, including through the fault of the Iranian authorities,
show that Tehran is trying to find culprits for this too. According to
the Iranian side, the actions of Azerbaijani protesters, who demand
that the lake which feeds them be saved, are backed by “external
forces”. It would be amusing to ask the Tehran authorities: has the
ecological disaster of Lake Urmia and adjacent areas been caused by
“external forces” as well?
Many experts and specialists believe that through dams on rivers
flowing into Urmia, Iran is seeking to dry up this lake, whose shores
are populated by a great many Iranian Azerbaijanis. There have also
been reports that Iran plans to tackle the problem by increasing
the water intake from the Araz River on the Azerbaijani border,
directing its water to the drying lake. However, specialists state
that it won~Rt settle the problem but further worsen the situation
in the arid border area and central regions of Azerbaijan where the
irrigation system uses Araz water to irrigate agricultural land. It
is not enough that Iran causes damage to Azerbaijanis living around
Urmia, it also intends to do the same to the central regions of the
Azerbaijani Republic.
A statement by US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who predicted
revolution in Iran, similar to the unrest in other Islamic countries,
added fuel to the fire.
According to Panetta, the world has seen that during the latest
elections in Iran, the same issues that caused revolutions in Arab
countries are raised in Iran. ~SI think that reform and revolution
in Iran are just a matter of time,~T the US defence secretary is
reported to have said.
Panetta stressed the need for a permanent analysis of the situation
and the adoption of measures to support the efforts of the Iranian
opposition. In addition, according to the US defence secretary, the
so-called “Arab spring” can easily spread to other non-Arab and even
non-Muslim states. He listed the main factors which he said have served
as a basis for the revolutions in the Middle Eastern countries, under
the influence of the mass media and young people who see no hope of a
better future. According to Panetta, the tipping point when society
demands profound changes has come not only for the Middle East but
also for Iran.
Commenting to 1news.az on the rise of anti-Azerbaijani sentiments in
Iran and their cause, political scientist Fikrat Sadikhov said that
the emotional outburst by the Iranian side against Azerbaijan started
long ago, but had increased recently. ~SA number of the military,
politicians and religious figures of Iran started to discuss and
condemn domestic issues in Azerbaijan, while making statements bearing
no relation to their professional sphere. Overall, some circles in
Iranian society show a painful attitude and jealousy towards Azerbaijan
as a country.
“Another reason for the current hysteria about Azerbaijan is the
internal political rise of South Azerbaijani youth, outraged at
Iranian policy on Azerbaijani people, living in South Azerbaijan,
and their problems,~T the political scientist said. ~SAs soon as the
domestic political situation starts worsening, the authorities seek
ways abroad to distract people~Rs attention and accuse external forces.
They start accusing neighbouring Azerbaijan and search for reasons
anywhere but in their own erroneous policy towards the Iranian people.
There is no doubt that the events in the Arab world caused even more
suspicion in Iran towards its neighbours.
“Another no less significant reason for the current anti-Azerbaijani
statements is the EU initiative to mediate in talks on construction
of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline from Azerbaijan and Central Asian
states to Europe. It has provoked a painful response in some Caspian
states, including Iran,~T he said.
“Despite all this, Azerbaijan is restrained in its reaction,
aware that Iran is a big state with which we maintain projects and
contracts. However, it should be born in mind that Azerbaijan~Rs
patience may be exhausted at any time and Tehran should think about
what it is getting, other than problems,~T Sadikhov said.
It should be noted in conclusion that along with the anti-Azerbaijani
propaganda, Iran is strengthening its military presence at the
Azerbaijani border, while simultaneously increasing the flow of
drugs from Iran to Azerbaijan. Through this deliberate policy to
damage Azerbaijani interests, Tehran is trying to exert pressure
on Baku~Rs position on energy transit routes from the region to
Europe and expansion of cooperation with the West. However, Iran
itself is unable to offer any more profitable and stable projects to
Azerbaijan. For this reason, Tehran~Rs attempts to force Azerbaijan
to disavow its foreign policy and economic interests at the whim of
a group of Iranian mullahs, who have a false idea of their right to
decide what other countries should do, seem ridiculous.
However, it should be born in mind that Azerbaijan has enough leverage
to create no less serious grounds for concern to Iran.
Is it worth spoiling neighbourly relations on the whim of radical
elements?